Hi everyone :)

Welcome to the new chapter of 'Life is about to get stranger'

Now this chapter doesn't contain the last new submitted character appearance, I originally was going to have her show up, but pushed her appearance back to the next chapter.

This chapter is mostly Max heavy, and the final scene will continue on directly into the next chapter.

The campfire filled her with warmth as Max sat before it. They'd gone into the woods of Arcadia Bay, away from prying eyes.

Max looked over in the direction Abigail had gone off to a few minutes ago before turning her attention back to the flame.

There was something off about the older girl tonight, it was subtle, and Max wouldn't have guessed anything if she hadn't spent as much time with her as she had, and was able to thus tell the difference.

Abigail seemed distracted and somewhat distant, as if her thoughts were on other issues.

'Though this could be because of that weird vision she had' Max thought to herself as she stood up and walked around to where a pile of sticks and twigs were stacked, tossing a couple onto the fire before warming her hands near it.

A few minutes later Abigail returned, placing her coat down by the fire before stepping over to a flat stretch of ground she'd smoothed out when they arrived, making a large circular patch of flat ground without any grass or rocks within it.

"Right, let's begin" Abigail said as Max nodded, standing up and walking over to join her.

Max had changed out of the clothes she'd worn in class earlier, and was now wearing a pair of long black yoga pants, and a white t-shirt and a pair of black converse, as well as two white sweat bands on her arms.

Abigail was dressed similarly, albeit without the sweat bands.

The two of them stepped into the circle and Max moved back so they were a few meters apart.

"Begin" Abigail said simply before Max ran at her, throwing a punch to the older girl's chin, only for her to dodge it.

Max didn't pause however as she threw another, aiming this one at Abigail's shoulder only her to weave around it.

This went on with Max throwing punches, kicks and elbows at her, Abigail going purely on defence and avoiding them as they moved closer to the circle's edge.

Max attempted a kick Abigail's side, but it was not only blocked, but grabbed as Abigail locked Max's leg at her side and spun the younger girl around, tossing her several feet and onto the ground.

"Oohh man" Max groaned out as she took only a moment to rest before rolling over onto her back, her eyes widened however as Abigail leapt up into the air and aimed a kick straight for her stomach.

Rolling to the side with haste, Max narrowly missed the attack and frantically pushed herself up off the ground.

As soon as she found her footing again, Max quickly moved back away from Abigail while making sure not to take her eyes off her as she brought her right hand up and focused on it before clicking her fingers, as she did sparks flew from her fingers but nothing happened.

'Damn it' Max thought as she tried again, though still nothing seemed to come of it. 'Just need to hold it'

She was interrupted however as she saw Abigail open her palms and two fire balls instantly formed in her hands before she threw them at the brunette.

Max managed to side step the first one easily, but narrowly ducked down to avoid the second, she felt the heat of it travel past her neck as she avoided it.

Looking back she saw the fire balls dissipate a few feet behind her, knowing it was Abigail doing it to prevent any unnecessary fired in the woods.

However at the last moment she realised her mistake as she spun around only to see Abigail now in front of her before she grabbed hold of Max's shirt and wrenched her into the air with one arm, bringing her in before her other hand met her stomach with a palm thrust, releasing her grip on her shirt at the same time.

Max was thrown across the circle once again, this time landing harder on her back and getting the wind knocked out of her.

Abigail took a moment and watched as Max struggled to regain her breath, the younger girl moving to get to her feet, her stance still shaky as she turned to Abigail, still taking quick breaths.

Max raised her right hand again and clicked her fingers, once more sparks flew from them as she starred at her hand in frantic annoyance.

"Oh screw it" Max muttered before flexing her fingers and splaying her hand before snapping it towards Abigail, who raised her own palm just as a burst of air hit it.

The older girl clenched her fingers before flexing them and thrusting back, catching Max off guard and again knocking her off her feet, this time though Max's body was sent rolling in the air.

This time, instead of hitting the ground immediately, Max threw her arms out to the side and managed to slow her descent, not enough to stop it, but using the air to cushion her fall enough that it wouldn't leave any bruises.

"I'm not going to lie, I much prefer training indoors" Max replied as stood up and rolled her right shoulder.

"Yes, well one day you might end up fighting someone outdoors, and depending on your enemy, the open space and natural surroundings can be an asset, but on the flip side, sometimes it can be used for your opponent's advantage. So it's a mixed bag, but nevertheless good to have experience in both" Abigail said as she began walking towards Max.

"That's not to mention fighting in enclosed spaces either, Olivia and I wiped the floor with a guy recently in a small flat in London, the small space prevented him from using more acrobatic and ranged fighting techniques"

Max made a move to duck around Abigail's approaching form, only for Abigail to grab hold of the back of her shirt and wrench her up off the ground once more; Max however sent an elbow towards Abigail's face from her elevated position, which the older girl dodged and release Max.

Max thought this was to her advantage until Abigail swung her leg around and took Max's out beneath her, causing her to land on her back on the ground again, groaning out as Abigail looked down at her.

"You seem to like eating dirt tonight" Abigail said good naturedly as she offered Max a hand.

Taking it, Max allowed her to help her up off the ground.

"Now come on, we're not done yet" Abigail said as Max took a few breaths before raising her hands up again.

Max was sore.

She was trying to find a section of her body right now that wasn't, but so far had failed as she sat back near the fire once again, the training having been over for ten minutes now as Abigail was seated a few feet away from her, without a bruise of mark to show for it.

Max on the other hand, knew she would be sporting a black eye and other marks in the morning.

Or that she would have, if not for some of the remedies and other things Abigail had supplied her with previously.

Reaching over, Max took the cup of tea she'd been given and took a few sips, letting the hot liquid wash down her throat and warm her up as let out a sigh.

"You're use of Air is improving definitely" Abigail said from her spot a few feet from Max, she glanced up from where she'd been looking at the fire to now look at Max.

Abigail has changed back into the outfit she'd been wearing earlier, and had her coat on once again.

"Yeah, though I still suck at conjuring fire" Max said.

"Not everyone picks up certain elements the same speed as others, there's a reason I told you to start on air" Abigail replied before taking a sip from her own cup and motioning to Max.

"I told you before, even though not all sorcerers and magic users learn elemental magic or elemental manipulation, utilizing the elements is an advantage and skill you should learn"

"I know, and I really do want to learn, it's just I still am having trouble conjuring or making fire on my own, even with the trick you and Olivia showed me" Max said as she sat back and looked down at her hands.

The trick she was referring to was clicking her fingers when trying to create fire, it was meant to aid in creating friction when focusing, though Max hadn't had too much luck other than a few small successes in lighting candles, and that was a rarity.

Apparently some sorcerers chose to continue using the finger clicking method even after not needing to, due to finding it easier.

Abigail meanwhile was looking over at Max's still despondent expression before she reached into her pocket.

"Here"

Max looked up to see Abigail holding out what looked like a zippo lighter to her, it had a matte red colour scheme and what looked like a phoenix design on the front and back.

"Using an external fire source can help cut out half the work" Abigail said as Max reached over to it, but paused as Abigail closed her fingers around it.

"This was recently improved by a good friend, and I am lending this to you, so please don't lose it. If you did I could probably track it, but nevertheless, please be careful with it" Abigail said as she placed it down in Max's hand.

Max wordlessly nodded as she looked over the lighter in her hand, flipping it open she sparked up the flame and looked at it with interest, the flame it produced seemed to burn brighter than normal and was slightly mesmerising as Max starred at it for several moments before closing the lighter and pocketing it.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their tea and enjoying the fire. Max noticed the same look coming over her face as before, the seemingly far off look.

She was about to say something when Abigail beat her too it, reaching into her coat and pulling out a folded up piece of paper.

"I um…I wanted to ask you something." Abigail said as she unfolded the piece of paper, Max wasn't able to see what it was as the older girl was staring at it.

"Do you know anything about this girl?" she said after a few moments, holding the paper up so Max could see it.

The image on it was one Max had seen a few times before around school and throughout Arcadia Bay.

It was a missing person's flier regarding Rachel Amber.

She had disappeared before Max had started back at Blackwell, but was well known throughout the school.

"Uh, not really. I mean I only know what's talked about her around the school, popular girl, good at her classes and subjects, everyone seemed to like her, or at least most people, till she went missing of course" Max said evenly as Abigail turned the paper back around and was staring at it again with a look Max couldn't quite place.

"Why, is she someone important? Does she have something to do with that vision you had or something?" Max asked inquisitively.

Abigail didn't answer immediately, staring at the picture for a moment longer before folding up the paper again and pocketing it.

"Just don't worry about it, I don't really want to talk about it right now" Abigail said lowly as she stood up and walked over to the pile of sticks.

"But…" Max began slowly before looking at her.

"It's just; you seem kind of distracted ever since we met up this evening, and-"

Before Max could say another word however Abigail spun around.

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" she screamed.

The campfire suddenly roared to life and grew several feet in the air and outward as Abigail was cut off from view by the flames; Max fell back from her seated position and starred in alarm.

After a few moments the fire died back down and Abigail could be seen again, her expression tight and her fists clenched at her side.

Max watched silently, the outburst leaving her unsure of what to do or say as she starred back worried, and truthfully a little bit scared.

Abigail's gaze wavered as she looked down and let out a shaky breath before moving her hand over the flames, unaffected by the heat and slowly clenching her hand into a fist as the fire died down, doing this till there was nothing left but smoking blackened ash.

"Come one, let's get you back to school" Abigail said as she walked around the fire pit and walked ahead.

Max took a few steady breaths before standing up and walking back with her.

She was silent the whole way back.

Max had stopped off at her dorm room, careful to avoid running into anyone as she got out of the clothes she'd been training in, before heading to the bathroom.

She quickly got into one of the showers, letting the hot water run over her sore muscles as she leaned back against the tiled wall.

Abigail's blow up at her had left Max a little shaken, she hadn't said a word to the older girl on the way back, nor wise versa. As soon as Abigail had gotten Max back to the entrance of the dorms she'd turned and left without a word.

There was definitely something going on with her and it was somehow connected to Rachel Amber, but how?

Max closed her eyes as she let her hair be covered in the waters spray as she contemplated everything.

She wanted to find out what was wrong, but at the same time, didn't want to risk angering Abigail.

She'd know the older girl now for a little over a year, and had been training with and learning from her now for three months. It was at first a huge celebrity like moment when Max realized who she was without the perception filter.

Abigail was a real life genuine superhero, despite the older girl's own dislike for the term. And was a part of a famous superhero team that had grown to include members all over the country and even internationally.

That's not to mention all the charity and other venues she helped out in or supported, often times with other heroes, either Titans or Justice League members, and sometimes independent heroes.

And the many online fan groups or social media sites that were dedicated to her or her team, with the founding titans often having individual followings as well as group followings, and the members of the other main branches and honorary ones, though this sometimes did get creepy with some websites or stalkers, not to mention lewd and NSFW or suggestive artwork was all over the place, but hey, that was the internet.

Besides, some of the artwork Max had found was really cool, and some…well she was glad she deleted some of her search history.

Max had first known about her years ago, when she and her friends first formed the Teen Titans, Max had only been eleven at the time, and seeing a group of young superheroes had been one of the coolest things ever.

As well as the fact that Abigail was open about the fact she was a lesbian, despite a fair share of public backlash, and some conservative and parent groups protesting against her for this, she never hid who she was and would often join in on Pride celebrations and events, even supported by her friends and fellow superheroes, some coming out as members of the community and others as straight allies.

She had without meaning to, become an icon not just for young women or women in general, but the LGBTQ community.

That had helped Max out in times in Seattle personally. She hadn't really been able to narrow down what she was orientation wise, sometimes she thought she could be bi-sexual, but other times girl's seemed to be the only ones that attracted her.

Despite her insecurities and lack of clarity over her sexuality, she always found solace whenever seeing an online article or videos showing heroes coming out and discussing the topic, in a way it made her feel more at ease with herself, at least in the moment.

And ever since meeting Abigail, she had been able to interact with someone who she viewed as a role model and a source of inspiration. It was so surreal at times; Max sometimes thought she was dreaming.

But even so, there was so much about Abigail that she still didn't know about. Which was to be expected, despite having known her for a year, they didn't spend every day of that year together, and there was a lot Abigail kept close to her chest.

Her friends in the Titans knew her so much more intimately than she could hope for any time soon, but that was to be expected, they were like her family.

Speaking of her family, she knew of Abigail having two older sisters, and that one of them had died.

She also knew that Abigail's mother had died when she was younger, which had happened before she and the Titans formed.

Her Father however, was another matter. Abigail rarely if ever even mentioned or talked about her father, and when she did, Max could tell there was a lot of baggage and bad blood there, but the origins of this were unclear.

She hadn't asked Abigail about it, but during a passing conversation she'd had with Nightwing once while visiting Titans Tower and while waiting for Abigail to join her, the masked hero had merely said that it was a very personal matter, and advised her not to bring it up, as it wasn't a happy subject matter to talk about.

One day they might be able to talk about it, but in all honesty, Max wasn't sure she wanted to find out, the way Abigail had very briefly mentioned it, and the tone she used, as well as the way Nightwing had advised her.

Max knew somehow, someway, that John Constantine had done something to Abigail.

Max had never had any siblings, and her time with Abigail had slowly begun to have her look up to the blond as an older sister, and the thought of her hurting in such a way made Max want to help her.

Reaching down, Max grabbed a small bottle of yellow liquid and unscrewed the cap, squeezing out yellow substance, Max began rubbing it around her body like liquid soap, lathering it up and spreading it around her thoroughly, the lather didn't wash off as quickly as liquid soap, it seemed to cling to her body for a little while longer.

It smelled like honey and vanilla, and was already soothing Max's muscles, she made sure to rub it around her face too.

She knew by morning, her bruises would be gone.

Letting out a sigh, Max allowed the water to wash the rest of the lather off, before turning off the shower.

Making sure to dry herself off completely, Max changed into her pyjamas that she'd brought with her before folding her towel and grabbing her shower caddy and making her way back to her dorm room.

As she entered her room however, she wasn't expecting to see Abigail sitting there on her bed.

The older girl waited for Max to close the door behind her before speaking.

"I'm…sorry" she began quietly, before looking up at her and speaking more clearly.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier, and for reacting the way I did. You were just concerned and worried about me, and you didn't understand the situation, or the reasoning behind me getting angry, so I shouldn't have reacted the way I did"

"That's ok…I shouldn't have pried-" Max began.

"No, no that's not….you shouldn't…." Abigail tried to say before sighing and looking down as Max walked over and placed her towel and shower caddy in her closet.

When she turned around, Abigail was looking right at her before speaking up.

"I came here not just to apologise, I came here too as I realised that the situation I'm dealing with, it's not something I can just cut you out of, you'd most definitely wind up involved in it anyway, so it's better if I just come out with it now" Abigail said as she got up and let out a breath, motioning for Max to sit on the bed.

After Max sat down, Abigail began to walk around and pace, seemingly figuring out what to say for a few moments before turning back to the younger girl.

"Ok" she said with a huff. "This won't be exactly easy for me to discuss, and I want you to know that only a few select people alive know what I'm about to reveal to you, this is something very personal and very hard for me to talk about, hell I rarely do talk about it, maybe if I did it wouldn't be so hard….but still…I want you to understand the gravity and personal importance of what I am about to tell you" Abigail said as she was now leaning down in front of Max.

"Do you understand Max"

"I-I, yeah I understand" Max said, stumbling over her words for a moment before nodding seriously.

"Ok" Abigail said as she took another breath, releasing it as she moved to take a seat on the bed near Max, turning to look at her before she spoke.

"You know I've mentioned before, about how I have two older sisters, you've met one of them, Jennifer" she began, to which Max nodded.

"And you've also met my older cousin, Marcia, who for all intents and purposes, is more like a sibling to me, due to her having lived with my family during her teen years. And there's Olivia, who my sister in everything but blood" Abigail continued before glancing at the door momentarily, standing up and walking over to it before raising her hand and the door seemed to shimmer for a moment.

It was a silencing spell that Max had seen her use before; it allowed them to speak without anyone hearing them outside the room, as well as any other noise being blocked out to outsiders. There was also a seal version that could be placed on a room and turned on and off, Max had been meaning to ask about having one put on her dorm.

Purely for innocent reasons of course.

Abigail turned back to her and made her way back to the bed before she continued.

"The truth is, that I also have two younger sisters" she began slowly, watching as Max's eyes widened slightly.

"You do?"

Abigail nodded before motioning with her head back towards the door.

"And one of them is right down the hall"

Max's eyes widened even further.

"What?" she said quietly, quickly a million questions forming in her head, like why hadn't the sister approached her if she knew Abigail, or why hadn't she been introduced to them if Abigail knew they were in the same school together.

She also mentally began comparing the various students to Abigail, for a brief second Max thought of the possibility of Victoria Chase being the sister, before shooting it down, there was no way that could be possible.

The thought of the Queen Bee of Blackwell being related to Abigail was almost enough to make Max shudder.

She was brought out of her thoughts however as Abigail answered her silent question with two words.

"It's Kate"

Max's expression morphed to one of shock.

"Kate Marsh is my youngest sister; and her real name is Mary Anne Constantine"

So there you go! The new chapter wraps up.

What did you think of Max's first display of using Magic ? (Flashback will show her earlier attempts)

And what are your theories on how Kate and Rachel are Abigail's sisters? (Hush AzyureCrow, you know too much! XD)

(Fun Fact: The part with Max considering momentarily of Victoria being one of Abigail's sisters, comes from one of the draft ideas where I had Victoria originally as one of the two sisters, before changing it in the final cut)

I plan on starting the next chapter to this when I get back on the weekend, this is due to me going to the Sydney Supanova pop culture convention (I'm actually leaving in five hours, and it's 3 AM right now! I need sleep)

Oh! And I am also going to post a connected (somewhat) side story to this one, containing mostly non-canon chapters and scenes, some of which that will be of an M Rated/NSFW/smut based variety. Basically a place for me to post smutty ideas that wouldn't fit into the main story (Like the first non-canon chapter actually is planned for Max and Abigail to have a little post training 'relaxation' which is basically code for they go at it like horny rabbits)

As I said, most of the chapters in the side story will be non-canon places for ideas (not all of them will be smut based, some will be humorous or dramatic in nature, or even domestic, etc) heck, I might even have the victoria sister idea be in some of the non-canon chapters (non smut...but maybe some smut too! XD)

I am still trying to think of a name for the spin off collection however.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please if you did, be sure to leave a review below :D